S.Africa, China sign nuclear power agreement

South Africa has signed a nuclear energy cooperation agreement with China as the government looks to expand the critical power supply system, officials said Friday. Pretoria said the agreement was a “preparatory phase for a possible utilisation of Chinese nuclear technology in South Africa”. The energy ministry said in a statement that the government had committed to expanding nuclear power generation by an additional 9.6 gigawatts by 2030. The country has already signed similar agreements with Russia and France, potentially putting firms Rosatom and Areva in line for the development of nuclear reactors worth billions of dollars.